AN: Same as before, some of the dialogue has been transcribed by me from the episodes myself, but have made changes to make it fit my version of the story.

AN2: This time I've not written it from one specific POV as there is too much back & forth in this chapter to make that work, so there will not be headings to show whose POV it is in this chapter

Disclaimer: Arrow and all their scripts etc are still owned by CW, not me.

The last thing Tommy was aware of was a sharp pain to his face and his last thought before he passed out was that he had been hit by the hilt of the machete. Everything went dark very quickly as Tommy collapsed onto the floor.

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"Oliver I'm sorry" Felicity said hesitantly, her voiced filled with sympathy after they had just finished watching Moira Queen give her press conference and being arrested by the police.

"Don't be. She gave those people a chance." Oliver replied, meaning it, at least now some of those people would survive, they would have a chance. He walked towards the trunk he had brought back with him from the Island.

"I thought Merlyn broke your bow?" Diggle queried with confusion in his voice. It was clear Oliver planned to head out, but how he intended to stop Merlyn without even a bow was beyond Diggle. After all, Oliver hadn't been able to defeat him when he did have a bow.

"I have another." Oliver said opening the trunk and taking out the bow from the Island. Yao Fei's bow, Shado's bow, the first bow he had ever used. He had survived five years of hell with that bow, killed Fyres with it, so maybe just maybe he would be able to use it to take down Merlyn as well - even if he knew he would die in the process too.

"I was going over the device schematics. The device can be set with a timed detonation or can be remote activated by a mobile transmitter." Felicity moved the conversation on instead of querying him on the bow, something for which he was very grateful.

"Something Merlyn could have on him." Oliver said understanding what Felicity was getting at.

"Listen Oliver if we can just get our hands … on this transmitter maybe we don't need to track down the device." Diggle said, but Oliver knew he was clutching at straws and it was just too risky to take that chance with a man like Merlyn.

"It's too big of an if Diggle. I need you in the subway. Find the device. Disarm it." Oliver spoke in what Felicity called his Arrow voice, making it clear these were his orders and not up for discussion.

"So you can take on Merlyn by yourself?!" Diggle said disbelievingly. He knew that Oliver would do whatever he had to, whatever it took to take down Merlyn and prevent the destruction of the Glades – but going up against him alone was suicide and Oliver knew it! Oliver might be giving orders, but Diggle wasn't going to just let the younger man commit what was tantamount to suicide if he could do anything to prevent it.

Oliver sighed briefly, looking down and away from Diggle's eyes before replying. He knew the older man wouldn't like his reply, but it didn't change it, couldn't change it. No matter what this had to end. This is what he'd come back from the Island to stop, what he'd survived the Island for. His own life, wasn't important now, saving the city was.

"I have to."

"Oh he'll kill you Oliver." Diggle said without a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

They both knew it was true, Merlyn would kill Oliver if he went up against him alone again, especially on the night of the Undertaking. Oliver met Diggle's eyes, he had to let him see he understood, he knew the stakes all too well.

"I know."

Diggle just swallowed, looking at his friend in despair. He knew there was no way he was going to talk Oliver out of it.

"He's beaten me twice..." Oliver shook his head as he continued speaking, it was time to be completely honest with his friends. "...and I don't know how to stop him."

Diggle nodded in agreement and understanding. If he wasn't going to talk Oliver out of it though, he was damn well going to make sure he found another way to even the odds, to give Oliver at least a fighting chance.

"Okay well how about this time you bring along something you didn't have the last time the two of you fought. Me." Diggle could see the confusion followed by surprise in Oliver's eyes as he spoke.

"I can't let you." Oliver appreciated the gesture, more than he could say, but he wasn't about to let Diggle sacrifice his life too.

"And I can't let you do this by yourself man. Oliver you are not alone, not since you brought me into this..." Diggle turned and looked at Felicity who gave a small nod, signifying her agreement to him including her "...us into this."

Oliver looked over at Felicity too, she smiled slightly in agreement with Diggle's words. Not for the first time, he wished he'd never brought her into this, into his world of murk and death. But the fact remained that without her much of what they'd done simply wouldn't have been possible – and tracking down the Markov device wouldn't have been either. He just hoped she realised how important she was to him – and not just for her skills with a computer.

"Besides, army regulations – a soldier never lets a brother go into battle alone." Diggle continued, making it clear that this time he was the one who wouldn't accept any argument. Diggle held his hand out to Oliver.

Oliver paused, looking at Diggle's hand, his face and the conviction in it. He realised that Diggle wasn't going to back out of this, couldn't back out of this, any more than he could. He reached out his hand too and clasped Diggle's solidly accepting his help.

"I'm out of bows." Oliver said slightly seriously, but still making a small attempt to lighten the moment.

"I've got my gun." Diggle responded in kind.

"Guess it's up to me to do the dismantling." Felicity said to looks of horror from both Oliver and Diggle. Didn't she understand how much he cared for her - loved her, he could hear his mind supplying in Tommy's voice -how important she was to him? Leaving her here would put her in more danger than ever before and neither he nor Digg would be around to rescue her.

"This whole area is ground zero, I want you out of here." Oliver stated determinedly.

"If you're not leaving I'm not leaving."

Unfortunately Felicity could be just as stubborn and determined as him, if not more so.

"Besides if I don't deactivate the device who will." Felicity finished pointedly and slightly triumphantly, she knew she had won this argument.

Fine, if Felicity was going to be like that he knew he wouldn't be able to convince her otherwise. But that still didn't mean he was going to let her wonder around the Glades looking for the device. Who knew what safeguards or traps Merlyn might have laid. Oliver walked past Diggle and Felicity and picked up the phone he used to contact Detective Lance.

AN3: